Bank of America Corp DE Acquires 273,483 Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI - Free Report) by 69.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 667,372 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 273,483 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.62% of Navient worth $8,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Navient by 110.7% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 62,921 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 33,057 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Navient by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,567,466 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $20,832,000 after acquiring an additional 199,937 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Navient by 1,088.8% in the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 460,646 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,122,000 after purchasing an additional 421,898 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Navient in the 4th quarter worth $442,000. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Navient during the fourth quarter worth $296,000. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Navient from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Navient from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Navient from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.93.

Navient Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of Navient stock traded up $0.40 on Tuesday, hitting $13.65. The company had a trading volume of 554,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 769,437. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.45 and a 200-day moving average of $13.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35, a current ratio of 9.48 and a quick ratio of 9.49. Navient Co. has a twelve month low of $10.53 and a twelve month high of $16.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.38.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $156.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.40 million. Navient had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 6.69%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. Research analysts predict that Navient Co. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.69%. Navient's payout ratio is presently 128.00%.

Navient Profile

Navient Corporation provides technology-enabled education finance and business processing solutions for education, health care, and government clients in the United States. It operates through three segments: Federal Education Loans, Consumer Lending, and Business Processing. The company owns Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans that are insured or guaranteed by state or not-for-profit agencies; and performs servicing on its portfolios, as well as federal education loans held by other institutions.